In recent years, a variety of procedures for determination of bone content have been developed for diagnosis of osteoporosis, and DXA (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) has been the mainstay of the procedure for determination of bone density at present. For determination of bone density in small animals such as mice, SXA (Single Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) method can be applied with the excised bone (for example, femur), using a DXA apparatus.

Mineral content in bone (mg) and bone density (mg/cm2) will be determined with the whole body of the excised bone. Subsequently, it is possible to determine mineral content in bone (mg) and bone density (mg/cm2) for the sectioned area of interest, for example, the tip of bone and trunks of bone. This method should be employed as a first-screening test because many samples can be analyzed by this procedure in a short period of time. In the analysis of small samples in size, "detection sensitivity" of the instrument must be taken into consideration.